Golf swing training guide

ABSTRACT

A golf swing training guide provides stationary markers or pads positionable in three dimensions, to assist in proper body position and golf club swing movement. The training guide has a telescopically extendible base pole pivotally attached to a base and positionable at a plurality of inclination angles relative to the base. A telescopically extendible touch pole is attachable to the base pole and may be pivoted relative to the base pole to position a pad on the touch pole into a desired position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A correct golf club swing is essential to mastering the game of golf.However, consistently achieving a proper swing is often difficult, evenfor experienced players. As the player swings a golf club, thetrajectory of the club head is influenced by many factors, including theplayer's stance, grip, leg, torso and hip positions, and others. It iswell known that via practice with feedback, a player can improve on eachof these factors. The feedback may take various different forms. Oneform of feedback is the visual position of a stationary marker relativeto the club or the player's body. Swing training devices providing oneor more stationary markers have been proposed for this purpose.Generally, these devices have a bar or a ball supported on a stand andmovable into a desired position, with the bar or ball acting as astationary marker or point of reference in three dimensions. While thesetypes of devices have met with varying degrees of success, designchallenges remain in providing golf swing training guides.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, the same reference number indicates the same element ineach of the views.

FIG. 1 is a top, side and front perspective view of a golf swingtraining guide in a folded or storage position.

FIG. 2 is a top, side and front perspective view the guide of FIG. 1 setup for training to reduce hook or slice.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the base pole fitting shown in FIGS. 1and 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the touch pole fitting shown in FIGS.1-3.

FIG. 5 is a top, side and rear perspective view of the base shown inFIGS. 1-2.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the guide of FIG. 1 set up for reartouch use.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the guide of FIG. 1 set up for swingplane use.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the guide of FIG. 1 set up for headtouch use.

FIG. 9 shows the guide in use for practice to reduce hook or slice.

FIG. 10 shows the guide in use for swing plane practice.

FIG. 11 shows the guide in use with knee touch.

FIG. 12 shows the guide in use with hip touch.

FIG. 13 shows the guide in use with rear touch.

FIG. 14 shows the guide in use with head touch.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As shown in FIG. 1, a golf swing training guide 10 includes a base 20which may have a flat top surface 26 extending at an incline between araised front end 24 and a lowered back end 22. The base 20 may be ahollow molded plastic unit. In this case, a fill plug 28 may be providedto allow the base 20 to be filled with water, so that the base 20 ismade heavy enough to support the guide in use. Referring to FIG. 5, thebase 20 may optionally include an opening 30 at the back end 22 whichforms a handle to allow the base to be more conveniently carried.

In FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, a base pole 34 is pivotally attached to the base20. The base pole 34 may include a lower tube 40 having a lower endpivotally attached to the base 20 via a pivot pin 46 shown in FIG. 2. Anupper tube 48 may be telescopically slidable over or into the lower tube40. In the example shown the upper tube 48 is slidable over the lowertube 40, with a rib 66 inside of the upper tube 48 shown in FIG. 3,projecting into a slot 50 in the lower tube 40 shown in FIG. 5. The rib66 and slot 50, if used, allow the tubes to slide while preventing thetubes from rotating relative to each other. The upper and lower tubesare typically about 38-72 cm (15-30 inches) long. The base pole 34 mayalternatively be provided as single tube or bar having a fixed length ofe.g., 80-120 cm (30-45 inches) with a lower end pivotally attached tothe base 20. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the base 20 may include achannel 32, with the base pole 34 pivotable down into the channel forstorage.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, a pair of spaced apart arch plates 36 may beprovided on the base 20, with the base pole 34 between the arch plates36. The arch plates 36 may have angle position holes 38, with a springbiased angle pin 44 on the base pole 34 useable to engage a selectedangle hole 38, to select a desired angle of the base pole 34 relative tothe base 20. In an alternative design, the angle holes 38 and pin 44 maybe omitted, with the angle of base pole 34 made adjustable via an anglelock device such as a pin or a clamp, wing nut, cam lever, detent, etc.Alternatively, the base may include an array of receptacles oriented atdifferent angles, with the base pole 34 inserted into a receptaclehaving the desired angle for the practice exercise to be performed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper tube 48 may include an upper hole60 and a lower hole 62 aligned with a spring biased lock button 52 onthe lower tube 40. In this design, the upper tube 48 may be locked viathe lock button 52 into the retracted position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,where the lock button 52 projects into the upper hole 60. The upper tube48 may also be released from the retracted position, extended out fromthe lower tube 40, and locked into an extended position as shown inFIGS. 6-8, with the lock button 52 projecting into the lower hole 62.

Turning to FIGS. 3 and 4, a base pole fitting 54 may have a clamp collar56 operable via a lever 58 to allow the fitting 54 to be positionedanywhere along the length of the base pole 34 and then locked securelyin place. A pivot tube or arm 64 extends out from the clamp collar 56,typically perpendicular to the base pole 34. The base pole 34 mayoptionally have a top cap 68, shown in FIG. 1, to prevent the fitting 54from sliding off of the top end of the base pole 34. Similarly, a stopat the top end of the lower tube 40 may prevent the upper tube 48 fromseparating from the lower tube 40. In this design, the base pole 34which includes the lower tube 40 and the upper tube 48, and the basepole fitting 54, are captive onto the base 20. Alternatively, the basepole 34 may be made to be removable from the base 20 by making the pivotpin 46 removable or releasable.

With reference now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, a touch pole 70 is supported onthe base pole 34. In the example shown, the touch pole 70 includes aninner tube 74 telescopically slidable into and out of an outer tube 72.The inner tube may have a slot 50,and the outer tube 74 may have a rib66 and holes 60 and 62 engageable via a lock button 52, in the samemanner as with the lower tube 40 and the upper tube 48 of the base pole34. The touch pole 70 may therefore also be moved and locked into theextended and retracted positions shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The touch pole70 may be the same length as the base pole 34, or up to 40% longer thanthe base pole 34. Touch pads 90 and 92 may be attached onto the ends ofthe touch pole 70. The pads 90 and 92 may be cylindrical foam rubberpads with rounded outer ends. The pads 90 and 92 are typically 10-20 cm(4-8 inches) long with a diameter of 3-7 cm (1-2.8 inches).

A touch pole fitting 82 is provided on the touch pole 70, similar to thebase pole fitting 54 on the base pole 34. As with the base pole fitting54, the touch pole fitting 82 may have a clamp collar 56 and a clamplever 58, or other mechanism to allow the fitting 82 to clamp onto thetouch pole 82 at a desired position. The touch pole fitting 82 may havea pivot socket 88 engageable with the pivot arm 64 on the base polefitting 54. In a simple form, the pivot socket 88 may simply be a tubethat fits over or into the pivot arm 64 with a friction fit.Alternatively, other designs may be used to set up the touch pole 70 ata desired orientation relative to the base pole 34, such as a ball andsocket design, or designs using clamping or locking features. Generally,if the base pole 34 and the touch pole 70 are provided as hollow thinwall plastic tubes, a friction fit between the base pole fitting 54 andthe touch pole fitting 82, in any configuration, is sufficient to holdthe poles stationary as desired. In this design, the pivot socket 88 orother component of the touch pole is simply pushed into or onto thepivot arm by hand, with the touch pole then remaining stationary viafriction, and without use of any separate clamping or locking element.Depending on the design choice used, the touch pole may or may not bepermanently attached to the base pole.

In use, the base 20 may be filled with water or other material via thefill plug 28. The base 20 has a flat bottom surface which is placed onthe ground or floor. Depending on the intended use, the base pole andthe touch pole are extended or retracted, and the positions of thelocking collars on the poles are adjusted. The angle of the base pole isalso selected by temporarily releasing the angle pin and moving thelower tube to the desired angle. As shown in FIG. 9, the training guide10 may be used to practice on reducing hook or slice by positioning thepads 90 and 92 close to the ground with the touch pole 70 horizontal.

FIG. 10 shows the training guide 10 as used for swing plane practice.The touch pole 70 is set on an angle, with the user practicing a swingwith the club shaft largely parallel to the touch pole. Also as shown inFIG. 10, one or more additional pads may be placed at intermediatepositions on the touch pole. The additional pads, if used, may be splitfoam tubes which can be snapped onto and removed from the touch pole,while the pads 90 and 92 may be permanently attached at the ends of thetouch pole.

FIG. 11 shows the training guide 10 with one pad positioned adjacent toor in contact with the users leading knee. This allows the user tomonitor the movement and position of the knee during the swing. FIG. 12shows a similar use, but with one of the pads positioned adjacent to orin contact with the use's leading hip. During the swing, the positionand movement of the player' hip is easily observed by the user, allowingthe user to make corrections in subsequent swings.

In addition to visual observation, the user may also sense physicalcontact with the pad. FIG. 13 shows similar application with the user'srear touching one of the pads, and with the user sensing the degree ofcontact with the pad during the swing. FIG. 14 shows the training guide10 in use for practicing head position. The user sets up the guide 10with a pad at a height and position so that the user's head maycomfortably contact the pad. The user's head ideally remains in contactwith the pad during the swing, indicating that the user's head positionremains steady throughout the swing.

Thus, a novel golf swing training guide has been shown and described.

Various changes and modifications may of course be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention,therefore, should not be limited, except by the following claims andtheir equivalents.

1. A golf swing training guide, comprising: a base; a telescopicallyextendible base pole attached to the base and positionable at aplurality of inclination angles relative to the base; a telescopicallyextendible touch pole attachable to the base pole at a plurality ofdifferent angles relative to the base pole; and a touch pad on an end ofthe touch pole.
 2. The guide of claim 1 with the base comprising ahollow container including a fill plug.
 3. The guide of claim 1 furtherincluding a pair of arch plates on the base, with the base pole betweenthe arch plates.
 4. The guide of claim 3 with at least one of the archplates including a plurality of angle position holes, and an angle pinin the base pole engageable into a selected angle position hole toselect an inclination angle of the base pole relative to the base. 5.The guide of claim 1 further including a first fitting on the base pole,with the first fitting having a releasable clamp collar to allow thefirst fitting to be moved to and secured in place at a desired positionon the base pole.
 6. The guide of claim 5 further including a secondfitting on the touch pole, with the second fitting engaged with thefirst fitting to support the touch pole on the base pole while allowingthe touch pole to be moved into a desired stationary orientationrelative to the base pole.
 7. The guide of claim 6 with the firstfitting having an arm insertable into a socket on the second fittingwith a friction fit.
 8. The guide of claim 1 with the base poleincluding a lower tube pivotally attached to the base and an upper tubeslidable over the lower tube, with the upper tube having top and bottomholes, and spring biased lock button on the lower tube movable into thetop hole or the bottom hole to lock the base pole into a retractedposition or an extended position.
 9. The guide of claim 1 with the basehaving a channel and the base pole pivotable into the channel.
 10. Agolf swing training aide, comprising: a base including a hollowcontainer including a fill opening; a base pole having a lower tubepivotally attached to the base, and an upper tube attachable to thelower tube at an extended position and at a retracted position; an anglelock on the base engageable with the lower tube to hold the base pole ata selected inclination angle relative to the base; a base pole fittingon the base pole, with the base pole fitting including a base pivot armand a releasable clamp collar around the base pole; a touch pole havinga first tube attachable to a second tube at an extended position and ata retracted position; a touch pole fitting on the touch pole, with thetouch pole fitting including a touch pivot arm and a releasable clampcollar around the touch pole, and with the touch pivot arm attachable tothe base pivot arm; and a touch pad on each end of the touch pole. 11.The training aide of claim 10 with the touch pivot arm attached to thebase pivot arm via a friction fit.
 12. The training aide of claim 11with the base pivot arm comprising a socket adapted to slide over orinto the base pivot arm.
 13. The training aide of claim 10 furtherincluding a pair of spaced apart arch plates at a first end of the base,with the base pole between the arch plates, and with at least one of thearch plates having a plurality of openings aligned on a common circulararc, and with a spring biased angle lock pin in the lower tubeprojecting into one of the openings.
 14. The training aide of claim 10with the base comprising a blow molded plastic enclosure.